Four-legged victims of hurricanes looking for permanent homes

The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland has 23 cats and seven dogs evacuated from the shelters of the US Virgin Islands.

Author:
Amanda Hill

Published:
7:14 PM EDT September 28, 2017

WESTBROOK, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The new space at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland offers its visiting pups some luxury amenities: a swimming pool and some fake grass to roll in; what more could you ask for under your four paws?

Scooter, Katarina, and Spike are just a few new faces at this shelter; a welcome home, if only temporary, to these animals who have been through so much trauma in the last month.

"They were part of an emergency evacuation mission," said Jeana Roth, the Director of Community Engagement for the Refuge League.

St. Croix&#39;s humane society

"Many of the shelters on the islands were completely devastated. They were flooded and really unstable so they used what they had, which were crates and cages to hold them safely, and that's what worked for them during that time until they could get them to the mainland to shelters like ours to receive care."

Roth says its nice to see such happy faces after such a long journey. When these dogs first arrived they were stressed out and scared.

"It's really important to note these are animals already in the sheltering system in the Virgin Islands, so these were animals that were either surrendered or brought to the shelters for various reasons," said Roth. "The majority of them were available for adoption in the shelters."

Taking these animals in helps clear the shelters, so those rescuers in the islands can focus on reuniting the pets who've been separated from their families.

300 animals were rescued by a group in Virginia. They packed an airplane, then filled vans and drove to shelters all over the country.

"We do have some cats with kitty colds, upper respiratory issues, but we're giving them the highest level of vet care."

If you're interested in helping the rescue efforts of animals affected by the hurricanes, you can find more information on the following Facebook pages: